Elke Mader

Prof. Dr. Elke Mader (2 May 1954 – 8 August 2021) was a pioneering full professor at the University of Vienna’s Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, serving as its first female holder of that rank since 2006. She held administrative roles including Vice Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (2008–2012), Director of the Interdisciplinary University Programme for Higher Latin American Studies (2013–2017), and Head of her department (2014–2016). Her research focused on Amazonian societies, media anthropology, and ritual dynamics, with later work on globalization’s impact on Indian cinema and rural Austrian rituals.

Education:

• Doctorate (1986): Subsistence and work organization among the Achuar (Peruvian Amazon)
• Habilitation (1997): Study on personhood, vision, and power among Shuar/Achuar in Ecuador/Peru

Legacy: Supervised over 300 academic theses and championed e-learning integration in social sciences. Known for her warmth, intellectual rigor, and encouragement of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Memorial: Services held in Vienna (August 2021) and Salzburg (September 2021), with obituaries published in academic journals.